I consider there to be 3 major turning points in my career as a
professional landscape designer.
The first was when I decided to leave my family's design/build
company in northern Michigan so I could pursue a design career.
I was tired of doing everything (estimating, sales, design,
installation, marketing), I just wanted to be a designer. I also
wanted to be part of a larger and more progressive market.
The second turning point came two years later working for another
design/build company. I acquired a new client who's primary home
is near Chicago and their second home is near me in Holland
Michigan. Dave and Linda had been through the design/build
process many times before and had worked with some well-respected
design professionals. The person who designed the gardens for
their Chicago area home was Tim Thoelecke of Garden Concepts.
The turning point occurred when Dave and Linda described Tim's
company and how he handled the entire design and construction
process. They described how Tim treated the design process as
separate from the installation and how he charged a fair design
fee. For the installation, they explained that Tim acted as a
general contractor and hired subcontractors for each part of the
project.
THEY LOVED HIS PROCESS.
I was totally blown away by Tim's logical and "design driven"
process. Call me sheltered or naive, but I had never heard of
operating this way. I was only familiar with the design/build
business model. This is what I was taught in school and it's all
I had seen in the real world.
After hearing this from Dave and Linda, I knew I had to meet Tim.
I always knew that there had to be a better approach to creating
gardens--a design-driven approach instead of a sales-driven
approach typical of many design/build companies.
So I contacted Tim and asked if I could visit with him and learn
from him. Lucky for me, he was gracious with his time and was
willing to share his knowledge, experiences and business
strategies with me. Over the next couple of years I met with Tim
3 or 4 times. I always picked up something new and came away a
better designer AND entrepreneur.
Now Tim continues teaching design professionals through the
American Academy of Landscape Design, which he founded. I know
many of you have been fortunate enough to participate in some of
Tim's courses through the AALD. Meeting Tim and learning his
process completely changed my career as a professional landscape
designer. Luckily, I met Tim before he started the AALD and
didn't have to pay for his advice :-)
If you also want some "free advice" from Tim, you can download
his new e-book "The 10 Step Design Process". This is the exact
same stuff he taught me 8 years ago and that I've been
implementing successfully in my own business ever since.
Dave and Linda loved Tim's design process, now my clients love my
same process!
You can download Tim's free e-book here:
http://www.landscapeleadership.com/public/203.cfm
I guarantee you will find some gems in here. His Budget Study
and Pre-Contract Agreement are brilliant and will save you time
and money.
And the 3rd turning point for me? I got fired from the
design/build company a few months after meeting Tim. It didnt'
seem like such a great thing at the time, but now I realize it
was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I think
everyone should get fired at least once :-) I'll have to share
that story some other time.
Here's the link again to Tim's free e-book:
http://www.landscapeleadership.com/public/203.cfm
All the best,
Chris Heiler, Editor
Visit my blog- http://www.fountainheadgardens.com/blog
